Complete Neurological Recovery After Transesophageal Echocardiography-Guided Diagnosis and Management of Prolonged...

A 70-year-old man was scheduled for open reduction and internal fixation of his right knee fracture. When the tourniquet was deflated after 150 minutes, his arterial blood pressure and heart rate decreased precipitously. The patient was deemed to exhibit pulseless electrical activity. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was initiated. The bispectral index reading improved to 25 to 30, but his end-tidal carbon dioxide was still very low (5 mm Hg). Transesophageal echocardiography showed a pulmonary embolism. Feedback from echo imaging improved the quality of chest compressions and motivated the resuscitation team to maintain the diastolic blood pressure>25 mm Hg. Although capnographic guidance was ineffective by itself, echocardiography monitoring was very helpful for showing the intracardiac events.